{"id":2930,"date":"2019-12-03T23:36:52","date_gmt":"2019-12-03T23:36:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ctlsites.uga.edu\/biol2013h-2019\/?p=2930"},"modified":"2019-12-03T23:36:52","modified_gmt":"2019-12-03T23:36:52","slug":"the-ethics-behind-genetics-richard-yones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ctlsites.uga.edu\/biol2013h-2019\/the-ethics-behind-genetics-richard-yones\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ethics Behind Genetics – Richard Yones"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In Star Wars Episode II Attack of the Clones<\/em>, Obi-Wan Kenobi steps off his shuttle onto the planet Kamino in order to track an intergalactic killer. Instead of finding him, he stumbles upon a secret clone army being developed for the Republic, one clone exactly the same as the one before him. They are all being based on one man, Jango Fett, who happens to be the killer that Obi-Wan is tracking this whole time. He was picked because he is of an optimal body type and a skilled shooter; he was a perfect template for an intergalactic army. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Don\u2019t start sweating because you aren\u2019t a Star Wars junkie\nand have no idea what I\u2019m talking about, this really goes beyond the point\nhere. During the year of Attack of the Clone\u2019s<\/em> release (2002), I am not\nsure that anyone actually thought that engineering an army of men who were\nequally lethal, loyal, and dangerous was possible. Just the mere idea of being\nable to look at a person\u2019s genome was unrealistic enough; why even try to\nmodify it? Potential advancements in the field of genetic modification (1)<\/sup>,\nsuch as CRISPR, have turned questions of possibility into questions of ethics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Should parents be allowed to genetically engineer their\noffspring? If so, to what extent should this be allowed? If not, what are the\nforeseeable dangers of furthering research on genetic engineering? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Are You Even Talking About?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To get us started, we must look at what is exactly meant by\ngenetic engineering. Genetic engineering is defined as \u201ca group of applied\ntechniques of genetics and biotechnology used to cut up and join together\ngenetic material and especially DNA from one or more species of organism and to\nintroduce the result into an organism in order to change one or more of its\ncharacteristics.\u201d(2)<\/sup> Lengthy definition, I know. Let me break it\ndown for you: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Genetic engineering appears to do one thing to achieve one\npurpose. It changes or influences the genetic makeup of an organism in order\nfor that organism to exhibit one or multiple desired traits. In a sense, it is\nlike me baking a cake. In order for me to make a regular cake exhibit chocolate\ntaste, I would need to add some cocoa powder to make the cake show that\nspecific characteristic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The focus of this article is not to outline all the new and\nshiny technologies that can allow us to influence our genetics nor am I determining\nthe potential of genetic engineering. Instead, I hope to point to the direction\nthat modifying the genome can take us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Positives: Disease Therapy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The concept was born out of a need to create a cure for certain genetic diseases. CRISPR can be used to modify disease-causing variants in the genomes of embryos and to remove such variants for other generations as well.(3)<\/sup> Doctors could edit immune cells to better fight cancer or edit blood cells to cure sickle cell anemia. There are many diseases that don\u2019t currently have a physical cure, so genetic therapy could prove to be an effective alternative to remedy these diseases. It is for this reason that genetic engineering seems wildly attractive, for it supplies a possible solution to a problem that has large urgency. It appears that millions of lives can be saved through this medical practice. If the medical community can remove a child\u2019s ability to have cystic fibrosis in the future or cure a current victim of cystic fibrosis, why shouldn\u2019t they be able to? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Other Side<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Like with every advancement in society, whether it be technological or, in this case, medical, there are several compelling arguments against the usage of genetic engineering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Health Risks<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How would pregnancies be affected as a result of using altered embryos? The medical community overall has very little conclusive evidence over the safety of mothers and even modified offspring. (4)<\/sup> Genetic engineering could result in many miscarriages and paternal deaths. Sure, this problem could be resolved with further development, but performing human clinical trials presently could prove costly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. The Class System<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A perhaps off-putting characteristic of genetic modification is its cost. Editing the genome of an individual is likely to be costly, especially if many specific demands are desired. The only families that could afford such adjustments would be upper-class individuals. (1)<\/sup> Such families, in theory, could create model children with peak physical and intellectual traits. What results is an increasingly polarized class system. Society would have an upper-class dominated by offspring that genetically are better off for future success, and a middle-class and lower-class with unedited offspring that are simply disadvantaged compared to upper-class offspring. With very limited social class movement resulting, modifications could create classes of individuals defined by the quality of their genome. (1)<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Discrimination<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a world that so publicly expresses their\ndislike for racism and discrimination, genetic engineering in a sense\nreinforces our biases. (4)<\/sup> Particularly in South Asian regions,\nhaving lighter skin is a sign of high class and poise. (5)<\/sup> If people\nin that area can choose traits that make their children have lighter skin, that\nbeauty trend would be further enforced. This goes beyond just appealing traits;\ngender distribution is at stake as well. In 2015, it was reported that 21\ncountries had an abnormal distribution of males and females. (6) <\/sup>Many\nof these cultures just have a preference for sons rather than daughters. That\nbeing said, the combined technology of sonograms and genetic engineering could\nallow people to know the sex of their child as well as decide it as well. Should\nthis technology become more generalized or more accessible, this could throw\nthe balance of gender off balance: a harmful abundance of men compared to women\nor vice versa. Humanity would be disadvantaged as it pertains to reproduction,\nfor there simply wouldn\u2019t be enough women to create life with. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Physical vs. Psychological, Present vs. Future<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s interesting about the arguments against genetic\nengineering is that most potential negative consequences occur far into the\nfuture. The benefits of the system can be seen almost instantly. There is tech,\nsuch as CRISPR, at the ready to spot genetic diseases. Saving the lives of many\npresently seems to be the most important matter since it is the most present\nissue. It is for that reason that it can perhaps be difficult to turn down the\ncontinuation of research in this field. On the contrary, since the technology\ncurrently isn\u2019t widespread or advanced, it is easy to write off the dangers as\noutlandish slippery slopes. The overarching negative consequences could be considered\ntoo farfetched or unrealistic to be believable simply because they are futuristic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We must recognize here that furthering the research has physical benefits but a lot more psychological and emotional detriments. In the future, the medical community could find possible cures to multiple currently incurable diseases. Genetic engineering, while the most straightforward route, is not the only solution to world disease. Furthermore, the mere possibility of intense class and trait discrimination looms large. Logically, genetic engineering has the potential to output the negative consequences mentioned above. While we can\u2019t rule out the good that gene therapy could do, foresight can tell us that allowing genetic engineering to advance and apply itself past what\u2019s necessary has extreme fallouts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Look! Sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. \u201cWhat Are the Ethical Concerns of Genome Editing?\u201d National\nHuman Genome Research Institute<\/em>, 3 Aug. 2017<\/li>
  2. \u201cGenetic Engineering.\u201d Merriam-Webster<\/em><\/li>
  3. \u201cPro and Con: Should Gene Editing Be Performed on Human\nEmbryos?\u201d National Geographic<\/em>, 26 Nov. 2018.<\/li>
  4. \u201cWhat Is Human Gene Editing?\u201d Center for Genetics\nand Society<\/em><\/li>
  5. Pe, Roger. \u201cYes, Asia Is Obsessed with White Skin.\u201d Inquirer\nBusiness<\/em>, 1 Oct. 2016<\/li>
  6. Brink, Susan. \u201cSelecting Boys Over Girls Is A Trend In\nMore And More Countries.\u201d NPR<\/em>, 26 Aug. 2015<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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